Copending patent application, Ser. No. 628,913, entitled "System for Security Processing of Retailed Articles", commonly-assigned herewith, sets forth systems and methods for safeguarding operator-unattended checkout of purchased articles in supermarkets and like facilities against customer fraud. That application, incorporated herein by this reference thereto, is commonly assigned herewith and employs, among other components, an entry conveyor and an exit conveyor. Articles selected for purchase are scanned for universal product code (UPC) identification and then placed on the entry corveyor. After comparison of a characteristic of the article, while on the entry conveyor, with a stored value of such characteristic retrieved from memory based on the sensed UPC identification, the article is transferred from the entry conveyor to the exit conveyor. Various security measures are provided to defeat customer fraud, such as the provision of a controlled security zone about the conveyors.
In one embodiment of the '913 application, plural sets of conveyors are provided, extending in parallel to adjacent, but separate bagging areas. The system electronics is provided in single embodiment, usable successively by customers. There is generally concurrent usage of the system at large, since one customer can be engaging in checkout while a preceding customer is in the process of bagging processed articles. Simplification and cost reduction is enabled based on the single system electronics, e. g., both customers use the same scanner, the same display unit, etc.